Tongshu with Mei

Before Jing Huaiyu caught up with Luoyang Fengcheng Gate, he entered the Yongsheng Gate on the north side.

Ever since Yang Xi's army arrived in the southern Shanxi area, the capital has imposed a curfew. During the daytime, entry and exit are also strictly checked, and passers-by are not allowed to bring weapons into the city.Even though Jing Huaiyu was an official of the imperial court, it was no exception. Everyone who entered the city was searched one by one before they were let in.But the two guards with weapons were taken away.Not long after they came in, the city gate was closed.

Jing Huaiyu looked back at the city gate, reached out to wipe the cold sweat off his forehead, and muttered in a low voice: "It's dangerous." He sent the rest of the people back to his mansion, telling them not to go out and wander around, and then went to the palace by himself.After walking a long distance, I still feel that those two eyes behind him have been following him and sticking to his back. It is definitely not the intimacy and trust on the surface of that fellow, who follow him like a shadow on a tarsal bone. Self-awareness.

After he entered the imperial study, he gave Yang Tao a royal gift and said, "I have something to report to the emperor." Then he looked around, Yang Tao immediately understood, and said: "You have worked hard, and go back to rest. Sergeant Jing, let's talk." Everyone made no promises, and all retreated.

The two monarchs and ministers stood opposite each other, and Yang Tao smiled at him: "Sit down, I like to listen to you the most. Now that there are internal and external troubles, and you are not born by my side, I am very troubled these days. Alas, what is going on outside now? How is it?"

Jing Huaiyu said: "Pedestrians are still on the street. Although the rebels are approaching, it seems that the people in the capital are stable. It's just that when I was walking on the road, I heard a song being sung by the children of the capital. Do you want to listen to it? ?”

Yang Tao said: "Songs? It's good to listen to them, just read them."

Jing Huaiyu said: "Such a humble minister is bold. I think the ballad was made up by the villagers in the mountains. The sentences are vulgar, so your majesty just listened to it indiscriminately. Where is it? One dragon chases the water to the east, and one dragon flies to the sky.'”

Yang Tao frowned and listened, and said after a while: "What's so messed up, I don't understand it. But it's really like a child's song."

Jing Huaiyu hastily followed and said: "I don't understand much, I just listened to them singing like this, don't worry about it, Your Majesty."

Yang Tao said: "You should talk about the seriousness. How did the rebels cross the Yellow River? Why did General Wei retreat again and again? Could it be that the Central Guards really don't work?"

Jing Huaiyu looked at his face and couldn't see anything. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Your Majesty, this matter is very strange to me. There is a reason why the rebels crossed the Yellow River so quickly this time. Let's talk about that day, I Unfortunately, the army lost Hanoi, and I followed General Wei all the way to the south bank of the river. At that time, His Royal Highness Zhao Wang and General Beichen were said to be outside Niujiabao. They were severely injured by Ling Shaoqing again, and they were chased by the Marquis of Huainan to the Yellow River. Your Majesty I also know that the Marquis of Huainan is ignorant, so there is nothing to be afraid of, but since we are defeated, we have to be more careful about him."

Yang Tao waved his hand at him and interrupted him: "Don't say that the Marquis of Huainan is ignorant, you underestimate the enemy."

Seeing his solemn tone, Jing Huaiyu quickly responded: "Yes, my humble minister underestimated the enemy. As a result, on this day, the naval armies of the two sides just started fighting. The heavy rain fell like this, and the soldiers were still in the mood to fight, so they had to retreat. Although it was day in the sky at that time, it was as dark as night. Lightning struck one by one, and the turbid waves in the Yellow River were surging. Both sides watched At this moment, a strange thing happened. There seemed to be two dragons in the water, and the dragon eyes could sparkle. At first they were far away, but then they came together and fought up and down. The feet tossed and tumbled in the water for more than an hour. In the end, one dragon was defeated and was sent eastward along the river, and soon lost its trace. After a while, it sank to the bottom of the water. In Er, everything was calm.

"Your Majesty, think about it. Now that September is almost October, why are there such strong winds and showers? Where did this dragon come from? One dragon wins, and the other chases away. What does it mean? On the shore, I was dumbfounded, and I still think of that scene, as if it is still in a dream."

Yang Tao understood, and connected this weird dragon fight with that weird ballad, but asked calmly, "And then?"

Jing Huaiyu said: "That's it. The rebel army took advantage of the thunder and lightning and the two dragons fighting fiercely. They even built a pontoon bridge [-] miles upstream. When General Wei found out, some of their troops had already crossed the Yellow River. As a result, we The army panicked and had to retreat."

Yang Tao sighed, and said after a long time: "I guess it's God's will. The matter has come to this point, it's useless to talk too much. Seeing the rebel army approaching, some ministers advised me to leave the Jingxiang area, what do you mean?"

Jing Huaiyu said: "Jingxiang's soldiers and horses are coming to the capital. It is not a bad idea to catch up with him and retreat to Jingxiang, and then wait for an opportunity to counterattack. But what I mean is that although Jingxiang is easy to defend and difficult to attack, because it is the fortress leading to the south There are many wars and killings. Jiangdong is rich and prosperous in the southeast corner, and there is a natural danger in the Yangtze River, so it can be used as a long-term plan." He has always been eloquent, but it is inconvenient for him to understand the emperor's intentions. It's just ambiguous statement of one's own opinion.

When Yang Tao heard the words, he remained silent for a long time, and then said: "Could it be that Minister Jing also thinks that the capital can't be defended?"

Jing Huaiyu was stunned, and hurriedly said: "No, no, I don't have this intention. It's just to make His Majesty worry about it. I think it's always good to think of a way out."

Yang Tao snorted and said, "I'm sorry to bother you. If the capital gives up easily, I will lose all face, but I don't know when I will come back! When my fourth brother was sending troops at Fengyu Pass, he clamored for it with great fanfare. On the side of Lord Qing, I have been thinking over and over here, who should I clear up for him? Also gag him."

Jing Huaiyu was startled, hurriedly looked up at him, and said with an apologetic smile: "Your Majesty, even if you clear up all the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, it may not be able to dispel His Royal Highness Zhao's idea of ​​raising troops. So this..." It seems that although he arranged it himself It was a lot of nonsense, but guessing what Yang Tao meant, it seemed that he still planned to defend the capital to the death.

He was thinking about coming and going, but he heard Yang Tao say: "I won't go, I want people to guard the capital, and whoever brings up the matter of hunting Jingxiang, I will send him to King Zhao, and let King Zhao clear it." He turned to Jing Huaiyu. : "Do you have anything else to say?"

Jing Huaiyu turned his head to look at the sky outside. Sure enough, it was almost dusk. Seeing that the emperor didn't intend to stay with him overnight, he thought about the bad debts in his mansion, and he didn't want to stay any longer, so he said: "This humble minister will ask His Majesty again. Then One day Niujiabao was besieged by rebels. Weichen followed General Wei and separated from Ling Shaoqing. Weichen heard that he was injured later, but he has not found Ling Shaoqing's whereabouts so far, so he has been worried about him. So I would like to ask Your Majesty, has Lord Ling returned to the capital now?"

Yang Tao heard the words, but slowly lowered his face, and said coldly: "You left him alone for a while, why are you still worrying about his life? But since you still miss him, it doesn't matter if I tell you. Ling Shaoqing was indeed seriously injured, and struggled to return to the capital. But after all this tossing, she died of serious injuries, and the imperial doctors were also helpless, and have been gone for a few days."

Jing Huaiyu was startled and said, "It's gone? Why hasn't Weichen heard anything about it?"

Yang Tao frowned and looked at him, his tone cold and indifferent: "Because he worked in Dali Temple for many years before his death, he also had a temper that was not recognized by his relatives, and he also offended many important officials in the court. It is not peaceful everywhere these days. I don't want the news to spread. Go out, I'm afraid he will die and live in peace. You don't want to leak this matter, just step back."

His complexion became extremely ugly, his brows were deeply furrowed, his eyes were cold, but there was a sneer of unknown meaning on the corner of his lips, even though he was a dragon and a phoenix, Jing Huaiyu felt apprehensive in his heart, and hurriedly bowed and said: "Yes. That's right, I'm taking my leave." I had no choice but to back out.

He went all the way back to the mansion, even though it was just getting dark, there were not many pedestrians on the street.The rebel army that was originally Yang Xi was almost outside the city now, and the people in the capital wanted to know the news, although they heard that King Zhao did not kill innocent people indiscriminately, they felt a little panicked.The prosperity of the weekdays gradually faded away and became deserted.

After staying in his mansion and having a dull dinner, Jing Huaiyu went into the bedroom by himself.Now he didn't dare to invite anyone to sleep, so he sat on an arhat bed to catch his breath. There were several guards guarding the door, one of them entered the room with a loud voice, and crowded with him affectionately. Together, he picked up the good tea on the small table and took a sip, seeing no one around, Fang said: "Mr. Jing, you went to see the emperor, what happened?"

That was Yang Ye who had disguised himself as his bodyguard and sneaked into the city with him.There are four guards in total, and the other three are Zhonglizhen, Nianwei, and Bai Tingbi. They are all disguised and guarded firmly outside the bedroom.

Jing Huaiyu sighed: "The lower official told the emperor about His Royal Highness Zhao's soldiers and horses crossing the Yellow River, and also told His Majesty the battle between the two dragons in detail, and even read to him the song composed by the lower official's teacher. But His Majesty didn't say much, so I can't see what he is thinking."

Yang Ye said: "His Royal Highness Zhao means that the capital doesn't want a big fight here. After all, everyone's surname is Yang, and they are all descendants of the royal family. Besides, the ancestral temples and shrines are all here. It really makes blood flow like a river, which is not good for both sides. You told him that dragons fight, he has always believed in these heresies the most, but now he doesn't believe it? He doesn't plan to leave the city and surrender, or abandon the city and run away?"

Jing Huaiyu said: "Yes, he didn't mean that. From His Majesty's tone, it seems that he intends to stick to it."

Yang Ye sneered: "Defend to death? That's just right. His Royal Highness Zhao Wang originally wanted to keep his brother's blood relatives, and wanted to save his life. Since he is so reckless, let me take advantage of my brother's unconsciousness now, take the city, capture him and chop him into pieces. Eight yuan to feed the dog. Even if my brother wakes up, those who don’t know are innocent, and there’s nothing he can do about it! It’s a peace of mind, but it’s a pity that I made people make those two dragons for nothing, and it cost so much money, but it didn’t frighten him!”

Jing Huaiyu was terrified when he heard such rebellious words, but he thought that he had made a rebellion, and a few words of nonsense were nothing, so he could only apologize and said, "How can it be said for nothing? Now the ballad has been spread all over the capital, and you have disturbed it, Lord Marquis." People in the capital are in panic. Besides, without these two dragons taking advantage of the wind and rain to cover people up, how could His Royal Highness Zhao's army cross the Yellow River so easily? If you feel sorry for Yinzi, my lord, although I have not had much salary in the past two years, I have no family If you have money, you have nowhere to spend it. The officials paid for the two dragons for you. You just have to make a price!"

Yang Ye was overjoyed when he heard the words, and immediately smiled like a flower, his eyebrows brightened, and he knocked lightly on the little girl at his hand: "Mr. Jing is indeed a wonderful person who knows and is knowledgeable! Then you will not be polite, brother. It is precisely this paragraph that my brother is very strict. Pay me well. I want to go out and have fun, but money is tight. A dragon costs 2000 taels of silver, including money to reward the soldiers of the dragon dancers, isn’t it expensive?”

He asked Ren Stork to find a familiar craftsman to make those two dragons. It cost a lot of money, so that soldiers who are familiar with water skills can practice familiarly.But Ren Guan was familiar with the sky and saw that there was a heavy storm recently, so he took advantage of this opportunity and put it in the water, acting out a good show of two dragons fighting and one running away.

Seeing that Yang Ye was happy, Jing Huaiyu made persistent efforts to make fun of him: "It's not expensive, it's cheap! I'll give you the money right now, sir." On the spot, she took out 4000 taels of silver notes from the hidden drawer of Duobaoge in the inner room. , presented it to Yang Ye respectfully.Yang Ye put it into his arms unceremoniously, moved closer to him, and asked with a smile: "Then, did Sergeant Jing find out the news about Lord Ling for me?"

Jing Huaiyu hesitated for a moment, and had to tell the truth: "The officials also asked His Majesty the Emperor about this matter. His Majesty said that Ling Shaoqing was seriously injured and struggled to return to Luoyang. He died of his injuries and passed away a few days ago. Your Majesty was depressed. His complexion is extremely bad, so the subordinate officials dare not continue to ask where he is buried."

Then he heard a "pop", the sound was weird, and he couldn't help shivering, but it turned out that it was Yang Ye who crushed the teacup in his hand, and the broken porcelain scratched his hand, and the blood flowed down his fingers. The cracks gushed out, and he didn't even notice it.

Jing Huaiyu couldn't help being stunned, and then suddenly, his arms tightened, and Yang Ye clamped his arms fiercely. He heard him sternly said, "What did you say? He's dead?!"